Posted November 4, 2013
Over the last ten years, growth of U.S. agricultural
exports to the European Union (EU) has been the slowest among this country’s
top 10 export destinations, according to an article by the Emporia Gazette,
available here.
“Regulatory barriers have become a significant
impediment to that growth,” said Steve Baccus, Kansas Farm Bureau president.
Baccus recently spoke to members of the North American
and European Union agricultural conference in Mexico City. Baccus also serves as chair of the American
Farm Bureau Federation Trade advisory committee.
Baccus said that the EU ag leaders admitted that they
understand the damage caused by the trade restrictions. As with previous meetings between these two
groups, the U.S. trade committee reminded the EU to let their consumers decide
the kind of products they want – organic, conventional, or “hormone-free.”
Baccus says that when and if changes to the EU trade
restrictions occur, U.S. farmers and ranchers will be willing and able to meet
the food needs and desires of people around the globe.
Recently, the EU and Canada reached a trade deal after
four years of negotiations, according to an article by the Financial Post,
available here.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso announced a tentative agreement on a Canada-EU
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that the two sides have been
negotiating since 2009.
The agreement is will be the largest trade agreement in
Canadian history with $17 trillion in economic activity.
For more information on international trade, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
